Kids watch 15 hours of TV a week

SHE does not let the television dictate her life, but do not stand between 11-year-old Kayley Collier and an episode of Neighbours.

The Twin Waters youngster watches nearly half the amount of television in any given week when compared to other children in her age group.

New data released this week as part of the Young Australian Survey by Roy Morgan Research detailing children’s top media choices showed children aged between six and 13 spend more time watching television than any other media.

On average, they spend 14 hours and 48 minutes in front of the tube in any given week.

Internet usage was the next highest media category, with almost eight hours spent online per week.

Little Kayley said while she would not miss episodes of Neighbours for the world, she knew where to draw the line.

“I still like getting out and playing with my friends,” she said.

“I only watch about an hour of TV a day, maybe a bit more on the weekend depending what’s going on outside.

“I use the internet even less, only when I need research for school.”

Her mother, Simone Collier, said it was important for parents to cap the number of hours their children spent watching TV.

“It’s something we enforce at home. I only let my kids watch TV for so long, so it’s important to strike the right balance between time indoor and time outdoors playing with friends,” she said.

Roy Morgan Research industry director Michael Duncan said it was interesting that television and the internet were screen-based media.

“This generation will be growing up in a rapidly changing media landscape where the line between television, internet and other media will become increasingly blurred.

Their current media usage shows a clear preference for media that has screen based technology,” Mr Duncan said.

Other data showed that six to 13 years olds spend 2.6 hours a week listening to the radio, 0.7 reading magazines and 0.3 with newspapers.